ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque woman has filed a lawsuit after she was involved in a crash with an Albuquerque Police officer. She claims the officer was going too fast without his emergency lights on.
Airbags deployed and smoke coming from the hood of an Albuquerque Police Department patrol car following a crash involving Officer Edgar Sandoval. “I don’t got any flames, no,” said Officer Sandoval in the lapel video. “I’m fine.”
The crash happened near Louisiana and Bell in January. In the video, you can see the APD car went through a fence and the driver’s side door of the other car, driven by Elizabeth Alvarado, is smashed in. Firefighters had to use the jaws of life to get Alvarado out of the car. Months after the crash, Alvarado filed a lawsuit against the officer, the city, and police department for personal injury and property damage.
The lawsuit claims that Alvarado stopped at the stop sign at Bell and Louisiana and said after she didn’t see any other cars, she started to drive off and was T-boned by officer Sandoval. The lawsuit states Sandoval was driving fast before the crash and his emergency equipment was not on. Sandoval told police he was heading back to the substation when it happened and claimed to have been driving around the posted 35 miles per hour speed limit.
“How fast were you going,” asked an officer. “Probably 40, 35, 40,” answered Officer Sandoval. In the police report, Sandoval said he remembers seeing the car in front of him and then waking up once his car had already crashed into the fence. The officer cut his face in the crash and Alvarado was taken to UNMH.
KRQE News 13 reached out to Alvarado’s attorneys but did not hear back. APD told KRQE News 13 in an email they are not sure they have been served yet but will respond in court.
